Rubber and like forcing machine, extrusion press, and the like



Jul 19 I 37, 07

y w. P. WHITEHOUSE RUBBER AND LIKE FORCING MACHINE, EXTRUSION PRESS, ANDTHE LIKE v Filed May 21, 1925 5 Sheets-Shoat l v male 1,637,207 y 1927-w. P. WHITEHOUSE RUBBER AND LIKE FORCING MACHINE, EXTRUSION PRESS, ANDTHE LIKE Filed May 21, 1925 5 Sheets-sheet 2 July 26 1927.

W. P. WHITEHOUSE RUBBER AND LIKE FORCING MACHINE, EXTRUSION PRESS, ANDTHE LIKE 5 Shuts-Shoot 5 Filed May 21, 1923 July 26 1927. 1,637,207

w. P. WHITEHOUSE RUBBER AND LIKE FORCING MACHINE, EXTRUSION PRESS, ANDTHE LIKE Filed May 21, 1923 5 sheets-shut 4 July 26,1927. 1,637,207 7 W.P. WHITEHOUSE RUBBER AND LIKE FOHCING MACHINE, EXTRUSION PRESS, AND THELIKE Filed May 21, 1923 5 Shoets Sheq-f. 5

Patented July 26, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER PERCY WHITEHOUSE, OF GRAVESEND, ENGLAND.

RUBBER AND LIKE FORCING MACHINE, EXTRUSION PRESS, AND THE LIKE.

Application filed May 21, 1923, Serial No. 640,559, and'in Great BritainMay 31, 1922.

This invention relates to the manufacture of tubes. sheets and the likefrom plastic rubber or like material and refers to and consists of animproved method of and means for producing same.

According to the invention, instead of the rubber being extruded in theform of a complete annulus or a single layer it is extruded in stripsand said strips immedil0 ately after extrusion are united at their edgesto form the complete tube. By this method of manufacture the tubes canbe composed of stripes of different qualities, kinds or colours, andeither straight or spiral in the case of tubes.

For producing the tubing, the extrusion press employed comprises asingle compound nozzle and two feeding scrolls or Worms, or hydraulicrams, or the like, both delivering plastic rubber to the nozzle and eachprovided with gearing, the speed of which can be independently varied tosuit requirements. The dilferent qualities, etc., of rubber are fed bythe respective scrolls or rams .2 to the nozzle and emerge from thenozzle,

or the die fitted to said nozzle, in the form of single tube, onequality or colour of rubber in strip form, lying parallel with anotherand the several strips forming the desired tubing. A mandril may be: em-

ployed, which may rotate and move endwise to assist the strips to assumea spiral form.

Upon the accompanying drawings:

Figs. 1 and 1 illustrate a plan view or forcing press embodyingthe-invention.

Fig. 2 illustrates to a larger scale a sectional plan taken through thenozzles, and through the two scroll or ram chambers.

Fig. 3 illustrates a like view of the nozzles but modified for use witha mandril.

Fi 4 illustrates a cross section of part of Fig. 2 on line 4--4. v

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate respectively 45 further sectional plan views ofthe nozzles,

constructed according to further modifications,

Fig. 7 illustrates an end view'of the nozzles shown in Fig. 5, whileFig. 8 illustrates an end view of Fig. 6. Fig. 9 illustrates an exteriorside elevation of the nozzle casing, of a mandril passing through thecasing and of an arrangement of endless flexible band and driving 55gear therefor for feeding the mandril through the nozzles and alsorotating same.

Fig. 10 illustrates another plan of the nozzle casing and of anothertype of mandril and of means for rotating and simultaneously feeding themandril through the nozzles.

Referring to Fig. 1, a is the casing containing the nozzles throughwhich the rub her or other plastic substance is extruded. Z), I) are thecasings or cylinders containing the scrolls by which the plasticsubstance is expelled through the nozzles, said casing a being flangedand bolted to like flanges on the cylinders Z), b which are each mountedon a bed-plate 0. Each scroll is preferably driven (rotated) by anelectric motor J, through worm gearing at e, and spur gear ing f at acomparatively slow speed, the two scrolls being preferably driven atvariable speeds. Each cylinder b, b is provided with a feed opening 6,and each is steam jacketed.

In the production of tubing composed of two concentric layers of rubberor other plastic material, the arrangement of the extrusion nozzles willbe preferably as shown in Fig. 2 or Fig. 3 9 being the inner nozzle andg the outer nozzle, and each of conical formation on its exterior andthe outer nozzle also being conical on its interior. In Fig. 2 nomandril is used, the inner nozzle having a through passage 9 accordingto common practice.

Surrounding the outlet end of the inner nozzle 9 is the conical faceddie member k, screwing into the nozzle casing a; in like manner to thenozzles g, g. i, z are ports in the nozzle casing a, through which theplastic material is fed to the nozzles by the scrolls j, y'.- Under thepressure of the scrolls the plastic material emerges in the form of asingle tube composed of two concentric.

layers, see Fig. 4. The tubing as it emerges from the nozzles is carriedby suitable supports and treated in any desired manner, such asvulcanization in the case of rubber, to render it suitable for use.

In Fig. 3 a mandril 7c is used, upon which the tubing is formed andcarried forward, the mandril being supported on carriers rollers, seeFig. 1 and being fed through the extrusion nozzles by any suitablemechanism.

Instead of the plastic material issuing in the form of tubes from thenozzles, it may issue therefrom in the form of strips, the

several strips lying side by side and collecttively forming the desiredtubing, the nozzles 9 being formed with grooves, see ig. 5, throughwhich the plastic material flows in strip form, the grooves of onenozzle overlying those of t e other nozzle and finally v merging to forma single tube with the strips of the two qualities alternately arranged,see Fig. 7.

By arranging the grooves in a spiral path, see Figs. 6 and 8, and byproviding the nozzles with a mandril and rotating said mandril whilealso feeding it endwise through the nozzles, the strips of plasticmaterial take up a spiral formation around the mandril, the coils of twoply strips collectively producing the desired tubing.

The mechanism for feeding and rotating the mandril may vary, one exam 1econsists of an endless belt, one part 0 which is wrapped tightly aroundthe mandril, while another referably receiving its motion from an eectric motor n through cone pulleys 0, belt and reducing gears q, q. Thes eed of the pulleys 1s made variable t rough the cone pulleys.

In another example, see Fig. 10, the mandril, preferably made to arectangular cross section and twisted spirally, is fed throughthenozzles g, g and simultaneously rotated by means of a roller (orrollers) engaging the flats of the mandril, the rotations of the roller(or rollers) producing a forward and rotary movement of the mandril. Theroller (or rollers) will preferably be rotated through spur gearings andcone pulleys, which allow of the speed being varied.

The nozzles g, 9 may be rotated and the mandril have only an endwisemovement, and when the mandril of spiral formation is used, the insidebore of the nozzle g may be formed to a like spiral, or it may be plain.

It will now be seen that by this invention, tubes, strips or sheets ofrubber or like lastic material can be formed composed of two (or more)kinds, qualities, grades or colours, or of the same kind, quality,grade, or colour.

In the case of rubber tubing, it may be formed with a, lining of hardrubber and an outer covering of soft rubber, or vice versa, or with alining of one colour and a covering of another colour. Further when theouter covering is made from strips or rubber (see Figs. 7' and 8) thestrips may vary in colour and give a pattern effect.

Hydraulic rams may be used in lace of scrolls or worms. The nozzles andies may also vary to suit the required section of object or layer to beformed. The nozzles shown in Fi s. 1 to 6 are separately formed, andserve ibr extruding two qualities or thicknesses only, they may becompounded and there may be more than two nozzles and more than twoqualities or thicknesses extruded, each nozzle having its own feedscroll or ram.

It will be understood that in all cases the various scrolls willpreferably be capable of being varied in speed to suit plastic materialsdiffering in consistency.

What I claim is 1. A machine for the manufacture of sheet material intubular or flat form from plastic material such as rubber, comprising aseries of grooved conical extrusion nozzles, spiral grooves in the facesof said nozzles for extruding the plastic material in strip form, thegrooved nozzles being concentric, whereby the strips may be extruded inconcentric layers, means for supplying the plastic material to thenozzles, and means for uniting the strips edgewise as they leave thenozzles.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the grooved nozzles areconical and are concentrlc and have a mandril passing through thenozzles, and means for. simultianleously advancing and rotating the man-In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

WALTER PERCY W'HITEHOUSE.

